HKScan’s changes its name to HKFoods – Credit: Postmodern Studio / Shutterstock.com

Finland-based food group HKScan is changing its name to HKFoods.

The decision was made at the company’s AGM today (18 April) and comes in the wake of the group selling its Swedish business last month.

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Sweden-based agri-food group Lantmännen struck a deal in January to buy HKScan’s assets in the country.

CEO Juha Ruohola said the new name will “continue the company’s traditions and reflects one of the company’s core consumer brands, as well as the company’s industry and strategic reference”.

Ruohola, who was made HKScan’s permanent CEO last month, added: “We continue our strategic journey to become a versatile food company. HKFoods is strongly Finnish at its core, but an internationally operating company.”

The name change will have no impact on the group’s consumer brands such as HK, Kariniemenand Via in Finland and Rose in Denmark, the company said.

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The company’s new name, logo, website and email address will be introduced in stages from May after the name has been registered. It will publish a separate stock exchange release after the name registration.

Ruohola was appointed CEO after a period as interim chief executive following the departure in September of Tero Hemmilä, whose exit came alongside a statement from HKScan that “urgent measures” were necessary to “improve the profitability of the core business and to strengthen the balance sheet”.

March also saw HKScan said it was considering divesting from its Denmark business.

In a stock exchange statement, the company said it was in “preliminary negotiations regarding the divestment of its Danish business”. It added there was “no certainty” on the outcome of the discussions nor the terms of any potential transaction.

In the same month, HKScan cut 45 jobs at a Finland poultry plant as it invested in automation at the site in an attempt to “improve profitability”.

The Finnish company’s total EBITDA was €52.7m ($60.7m today) for the twelve months until 31 December, up from €30.1m in 2022. However, it reported a loss of €15.6m for 2023, a slight improvement on a loss of €16m in 2022.